The purpose of this article is to show what to expect of FB10. FB09 set a new level to compete, so I will focus on not just what this delivers mechanically, but how relevant that could be in the upcoming months, and how it affects the currently competitive leaders.
For all decks covered, a deck link will be provided in the name, which will be the deck of mine throughout the format. That means, that changes will be applied until the end of the season, or until the relevant guide drops for it to make it as viable of a source as possible.
I'd like to emphasize, that we are before the release, so my summary is based on the previous metas, and a few plays with the new decks. It's not a prophecy, but an expectation. I might update this article when proved wrong to remain relevant, however if I do so, I will mark it with a changelog.
The evaluation ratings are the following for me:
S: possible bdif decks, I expect them consistently top cut events, and possibly win them
A: very strong decks, I expect them to top cut events, but not be the ones the meta revolves around
B: solid decks, which could top cut in the right hands and with some luck, but are victims of the meta in general
C: runner-up decks, which work great and can punish some meta decks, but it's highly unlikely to yield results in tournament play
D: playable decks, which could be played at casual events and yield results, but are mostly for fun
Red 🔴
FB10 Goku
Concept
This leader has a very simple, but thematic concept. Our battle cards gather ki, and our leader absorbs that ki to unleash a big final attack with the Genki Dama, that does triple strike. We can gather ki one by one with most of our cards, but since we need at least 7 for the final attack, we need a faster way, and here's where the champ, Hercule comes to the rescue, because he can gather up to 4 ki at once (for 22 Earthling-only 2 cost cards the chance is 91,4%).
How to get down the opponent to 3 life? Krillin can do the job quite well until 4 life, which doesn't seem useful at first, but we will only attack with the leader in the first few turns, so it can easily be a necessity. After that the real obstacle is getting down to 3 life to reach our potential finisher. At this point our Goku cards are the best options, one attacks with 30k for 1 energy, while the other can easily swing 50k absorbing the power of the Genki Dama seen against Android 13.
Evaluation: A
This deck is really good, it does one thing, but it does it wonderfully. On turn 4 it's possible to have 9 ki, which is absolutely crazy, as the Goku SR after that will swing around 80k. The opponent also needs to deal with our board, as they can provide additional value, which gives us more time. It also has great removal. The only reason I rate it as an A, and not an S is that it has some clearly bad matchups due to its big weakness. This deck can't deal with early 15k+ power cards. That means it can't disrupt evolve decks, and some of them could be a menace. Muiku and yellow Gogeta will deny the finisher, as none of them will die from a triple strike, since their key cards can't be removed with the extra. Mill Vegito is also a huge problem, because the SR Vegito forbids every attack, but the leader's.
FB09 Gogeta: BR
New cards
FB10-012 Goku: the On Play ability on its own opens new options. We no longer need Goten to get back cards, however Veku still remains a powerful option as long as we can boost it up to 20k. We can also be braver comboing off Vegeta cards, because we can grab them back. The When Attacking ability is even more important. It completely shuts down archetypes, which defend with extra cards. That's no longer an option.
FB10-017 Vegeta: that card is not as significant as the other, the most important part is the 10k combo. It can also create scenarios, which were not possible before with correct sequencing, because we can add another -5k to our sequences. It's a powerful tool, but not something, that might fit into every meta.
Evaluation: S
Before the release of FB09, I thought that this deck will be the BDIF, because it's a better red cell, and we've had a taste of how powerful an archetype like that can be. I was wrong in the end, I haven't anticipated SS3 to be that flexible and powerful. However SS3 will need to change. The current build uses extra cards to defend, and that is no longer an option after the new Goku. This deck can also remove basically anything, attack multiple times, and have 5 life after awaken, which is a very robust combination.
Blue 🔵
FB10 Vegito
Concept
This deck brings a twist into the evolve mechanic, as we've known it so far. Occasionally we could see evolve cards played on top of each other, but this time around it's the very foundation of the strategy. Basically we will stack cards under each other, and we will do it from the drop mostly, so we need to get Potara, Goku and Vegeta cards into the drop. Our 1c Goku and Vegeta cards do this exactly, they search and put cards to the drop instead of drawing them. For one additional cost they stack the other parts of the fusion under themselves. We need all components to play our big cards, namely one of the Vegito cards.
The 5c Vegito triggers specific On Play abilities under it, when played, but those abilities come from another optional layer we could put between the 1 cost cards and Vegito before playing it. We can also transform our base cards to their blue forms. Goku is the offensive option, while Vegeta gives flexibility. If we have all parts in drop and hand, we can stack all into one pile, and trigger both with Vegito.
Our finisher is not a double strike, a new SCR Vegito will fill the role. It will basically mill out the opponent on attack, and worst case scenario 2 attacks should be enough to hit through (a basic deck is 50 cards, 14 is removed at the start of the game for life and hand, and every turn at the bare minimum 2 cards are drawn, which fulfills the prerequisites by turn 4). While the SCR has a 40k attack, and seems like the perfect candidate for that job, this is where our leader ability is most relevant. The bigger the stack, the bigger its attack, which could be realistically 50-60k.
Evaluation: S
This Vegito is one of the winners of FB10. It has one of the best removal of the game, which could be the most relevant in the new meta. It's basically a better black removal, because the bottom deck won't trigger any k.o abilities, and completely destroys certain key cards, like yellow Gogeta or black Cell. Beside that it can give +5k for the leader until the end of the opponent's turn, which could save it from aggro decks, especially Boujack.
FB07 Syn Shenron
New cards
FB10-029 Omega Shenron: this cards enables Omega Shenron to have an even deadlier finisher. Up to this point the tactic was that the 5c Syn Shenron attacks, then the Omega Shenron attacks with 35k, then we reactivate it with our extra and attack with 55k double strike. That could potentially kill an opponent from 4 life, but the realistic scenario was to play this chain on 3 life. Now that sequence got a buff. For an extra energy we could add another attack, which is 40k base. The extra works on it, so it can attack twice, or attack after the whole sequence, and in both scenario he will be a 60k base attacker.
FB10-026 Syn Shenron: this card has a sole and very simple function. It is to reintroduce the 4c Nouva Shenron to the game, which wasn't in the core concept of the deck (I haven't used it personally). It basically does two things. For 1 energy it triggers the Nouva's ability, which couldn't be triggered in archetype manually until now, and replaces it with a 30k attacker. That particular sequence has 2x25k attack, and a 30k attack in it for 5 energy, and with the use of the new extra we can bottom deck anything (except for green boss cards).
FB10-048 Ice Ray: out of the bunch this is the most impactful card. Omega Shenron was a weird deck, it functioned as a control deck, while having no way to remove boss cards and at least 5 cost active cards. That weakness is over. Burning Attack can remove even 8 cost cards now, 3c Eis can bottom deck up to 5, 3c Nouva bounce up to 7, and 4c Nouva bottom deck up to 7 for one single energy, which also works in archetype. Or it could be used on tempo via our ability to remove any threat on curve. This single card fixes the most daring problem of the deck by itself.
Evaluation: A
I strongly believe, that Omega Shenron will become a meta deck once again. He's got options now, flexibility to build, and he could handle the FB09 meta given earlier support. Speaking of the new meta, on paper Vegito is quite favoured, as the basic toolkit can't deal with Omega Shenron. On the other hand, Boujack could be a huge problem due to his countless swings. This deck do have the advantage of being blue and removing cards with certain protections though. With no actual matches played yet in FB10, I'm not brave enough to say, that this deck will be top meta, but I do think that it could put up a fight regardless the opponent.
FB01 Trunks: Future
Evaluation: B
Trunks hasn't got any direct support, however almost the whole stack Vegito package can be used with any leader, as most cards aren't locked to a leader. The two exceptions are the 4c Vegeta and the removal extra. Trunks has ways to mitigate that loss though, and could also make plays Vegito isn't capable of.
Trunks can reduce the cost of the whole board on attack thanks to it's leader locked card, while also playing a 1c Goku, making its evolve counterpart bottom decking far more powerful. The only backside of this is a higher energy cost, as the most basic evolve chain would cost 5 energy. With the leader ability added to that mix leads to a deck, which can deal with any board though. While Trunks has no access to the new Vegeta, a functional, but worse alternative could be the older Vegeta, which gets the 3c Trunks cards from the drop. The lack of the removal extra is less of a deal as this deck has plenty of board control options already.
While the deck will be very strong, it's more nuanced and slower, than Vegito, while playing the same core, so I expect less players giving it a chance.
FB05 Vegito
Evaluation: A
Seeing mill Vegito this high can be surprising especially with no direct support, and it could end up as a B tier, but I'm optimistic about this deck. There are two aspects, which contributed to this verdict. The smaller and simpler is, that blue received a Potara super combo, which is searcheable by Shin the first time ever. That means more defensive capabilities for Vegito. The second is tied to the format. FB09 was about dropping 6 cost scr cards on the board as fast as possible, while FB10 operates with smaller cards. That is a great opportunity for the SR Vegito, which has a chance to cause havoc in the new format, as it can shut down Boujack, Goku, and make life a lot harder for black Cell as well.
FB09 Son Goku
Evaluation: A
This deck got no support whatsoever, however, while it was also a big contendor in FB09, it seems really good in FB10 as well, and could yield similar results, if not better. Vegeta will be premium now, since it's the perfect answer for most of the new set. The new Goku can't initiate the triple strike with Goku on board. Red in general and yellow will mostly play small cards, green is also in the territory of being removed by Vegeta, and Vegito must be really careful, what to play and when to not lose key cards to bottom decking. This deck also have some built in protection from being milled out.
Green 🟢
FB10 Gohan/Piccolo
Concept
After Beast Gohan we receive another ki leader, this time around as a duo, Gohan and Piccolo. The whole deck is mostly about these new characters, who divide responsibilities between each other. Gohan will be our engine, while Piccolo will be the support character. The leader ability itself reflects that, one of our Piccolo cards get cheaper, while one of our Gohan cards get an additional ki each turn.
In the beginning we need to reach 3 ki, and the best way to do that is to play a 1 cost Gohan, and then a Piccolo, which boosts it. We can do that from our hand as well for 3 energy.
The meat of our game starts at 4 energy, because we can play our big Piccolo onto the board, which can play any Gohan up to cost 5. On paper we have a lot of flexibility on that point, we can play out of archetype cards as well, such as Future Gohan from set 2 to gain value. Our finisher will be the new SCR, which on 7 ki basically turns all our attacks into double strike attacks. We must be sure to win though, as this move makes us extremely vulnerable if we fail to finish off our opponent.
Evaluation: C
It's very hard to rate this deck, the hardest of all the new stuff. There is the concept how to play this deck, and there is the reality. The board won't survive in the competitive scene. In an unregular way its a victim of blue in general, but other decks could also disrupt the board strategy. That means, that an alternative concept must be born to how play this deck in the meta, knowing the only reason it's worth playing this deck at all is the Piccolo SR.
Currently I believe that the correct way to play this deck is to store the ki on the leader, and play cards that gives ki to the leader even though that means slower awakening. This way we need no board to activate our cards, and we can play our finisher on an empty board having 3 ki on our leader (it will be a weaker finisher though as only our Gohan would attack as double strike).
FB08 Turles
New cards
FB10-061 Turles: I don't see how this cards helps the deck. On turn 3 basically we want to play the other Turles, or search for our fruit or another key card we can use later. It could be better, if it wouldn't be a Turles card, because that way at least our 5c Turles could play it and create a meaningful swing.
FB10-062 Turles: this card is vastly better. It's great on 4 energy, because it will play a 5c Turles as active, which means one additional swing and it replaces our fruit with an active energy. We can cut the tree of might because of that, we can have enough fruit generator not to run a 1c field anymore. It's really great on later turns as well, and can be an insane finisher sequence initiator, since 6 energy is the max we can go up to. That means, we can play this card, get the 5c Turles, play another attacker off it, and because we received back another energy we will have 3 energy left to play the Goku scr. That means 3 big swings and a finisher on top of that.
Evaluation: C
While Turles got a card, which really boosts a certain playstyle, and pushes the deck into a competent aggressor, the fundamental problems are still there. Without the fruit this deck is unplayable, and we received no support to get our first, only to juggle with it better once we have it. We also don't have a good removal, Kill Driver is not enough anymore, other decks do remove up to 6 for the same cost, which is basically almost anything, while ours can't remove any high end card. Also it's really sad Turles got only 2 cards as support instead of 3.
FB09 Gohan: SH
Evaluation: B
This deck got no direct support, but it can use two cards from the new set. One is the Gohan/Piccolo ki card, the other is the 5c Piccolo. We have flexibility using that card. We can do a slight ramp, or play our big Gohan via the 5c. It can act as an additional attacker, but the real reason we want to play that card is the +5k we get for defense as well. It's vital against aggressive yellow decks, but even that could prove lacking.
FB06 Broly: BR
Evaluation: C
This deck was B tier in FB09, and the list itself doesn't change. The reason I believe it's worse now is the multiple attacks it needs to defend in a single turn, especially against Boujack. It has very polarized matchups, and could get some big wins, but the big picture is not favored for Broly: BR.
Yellow 🟡
FB10 Boujack
Concept
Boujack is all about aggression, and the introductory leader of the ki mechanic in yellow. He will reach awaken once he gets hold of 3 energy, as Gokua can play another 2 cost card, fulfilling the condition on its own. This is not the only time we play 2 cards for 1 though, our deck builds on this swarm concept. Our big turn is the 5th, where Boujack himself enters the board along with 2 other battle cards. He is also very hard to remove, keeping up the pressure the whole time.
This swarm mentality needs good drawing power though, or we will quickly run out of resources. Also ki (which will come from the swarm itself), because our leader must use two ki for an additional attack, and with it an additional draw as well. That ability will also k.o one of our cards (because Boujack doesn't care about the wellbeing of their subordinates), and Zangya will serve as our sacrificary drawing engine.
Evaluation: A
Boujack is an alternative for the aggressive yellow playstyle. While SS3 likes to swing big a few times per turn, Boujack will swing multiple times. However I'm not brave enough to say that the deck deserves the S tier rating. It has multiple cards, that swings with 20k, and Vegito can truly punish this with the SR. It also has no removal. It can freeze, but to remove a key card from the opponent's board, the only chance to do that is to defeat it in battle. That means, while the deck itself is very strong, it has clear weaknesses, that handicaps it in the FB10 meta.
FS11 Son Goku
New cards
FB10-089 Vegeta: it's mostly a relevant tech card against brogeta, because with it on the board the only way to lose is to have life reduced to 0. It has some other benefits as well though. Since it can't be removed from the board, it's a free body to evolve Vegetas onto. That means we can pay in advance for future turns, which gives some flexibility.
FB10-090 Vegeta: while the card looks great on paper, its evolve cost is quite high for the rest of the package. It's like a lot worse Goku, it attacks only once, while providing the same number of cards. To generate more value it needs to survive a turn, and be able to attack. It's mostly an alternative Gohan with a board prerequisite.
Evaluation: S
The BDIF of FB10 needs to adapt. Results of Training is a dangerous card to run after the new Son Goku: BR, and red seems dangerous in general, since the new Goku can use triple strike given it survives long enough. As for the rest of the new stuff, SS3 Goku has a pretty good chance against them. While Vegito and Boujack can amass pretty crazy numbers, this deck has a wide toolkit to deal with threats on tempo. The deck itself will change, but the BDIF status still has a chance to land at its feet in the next set as well.
FB09 Gogeta
Evaluation: C
This particular Gogeta was A tier in the FB09 format, but the new set seems pretty dire to it. Vegito can remove the key card of the deck for only 1 energy, and Boujack will play a swarm strategy, which is very hard to counter with the current toolset. Not only that, but the yellow legacy support went to boost SS3 instead of the weaker one, making it even more irrelevant.
That being said that deck won't be unplayable, but will have very polarized matchups. It's still a fun, competent deck to play in the new environment in skilled hands, but I don't expect any tournament top cut given that there will be a strictly better alternative for the most part.
Black ⚫
FB10 Cell
Concept
Cell is the first black evolve deck, and it takes this role very seriously. Our whole gameplan consists of playing a 1 cost Cell, and evolve it into its perfect form, similarly how it was done in the red variant, but a lot quicker. To do this efficiently and without being disrupted, we need to awaken first, because after that due to our ability we can play for one energy a 2 cost Android, or two 1c Android cards. That is where our main sequence begins. The best candidate is the Android17/18 card, which attacks, then getting swallowed by our 1 cost Cell (a similar mechanic to Baby Vegeta), who then can evolve into a big Cell. We have some other routes to achieve this with other Android cards and semi-perfect Cells, which are fun to map out during play, but this is the optimal and least card restricted route.
We also received a dedicated finisher SCR, which can be played for 5 energy from hand in the sequence. It basically doubles our combo potential in the end game (even better, because a 0k combo card can trigger a a 10k in drop).
Evaluation: A
This is a really good deck, and I expect it to take the role of Nameku in the new meta. The reason for that is the practically same extra with a more active playstyle. While Cell won't have a 45k crit on board by turn 3, he can attack multiple times per turn, less allergic to board control, and has better hand management capabilities.
The main problem is, which doesn't let it reach S tier heights is the meta itself. Vegito and the new Goku will remove the 6c cards for only 1 energy, and there is no strictly better alternative, as the draw 2 part makes it more worthwhile, than the rest. Without 6c cards sticking to the board it will be much harder to kill off the opponent with the double strike, because in one turn only 1 big Cell can come to play and we are forced to take down the opponent to 2 life with smaller swings. It's not impossible, but handicapped for sure.
FS12 Nameku
New cards
FB10-115 Goku: This is basically a better Vegeta in most cases. Helps in the awaken, same statline, can attack, and after swing it can freeze another card on board. It's most notably great against cards, that can't be removed from board with the current toolkit, like Goku, Omega Shenron, Beast Gohan.
FB10-098 Krillin - This card doesn't help at all. For 3 energy we have vastly better plays than this.
Evaluation: B
The deck hasn't changed a lot, but it got a bit better. It has the ability to stun a card now, which could win games thanks to the cards, that can't be removed by normal means, like Cell, or Omega Shenron. However both Vegito and Boujack seem like a really tough matchup, which could hold the deck back, and they threaten the deck from very different angles making it harder to tech against them.
FB09 Gogeta: GT
Evaluation: C
This deck was the odd one in FB09 as it couldn't handle the top decks, but in the meantime it shutted down a big chunk of the meta just by existing. This doesn't seem to change. In fact it doesn't really matter where the meta settles, it will affect this deck negatively. No matter who gets to the top, it will be certainly an issue for Gogeta: GT. Vegito has the potential to remove anything from the board, Boujack is fast and explosive with this deck not getting better and struggling already.
